Time will tell, but the Senators might have done the organization a huge favour by getting blown out 6-1 by the Detroit Red Wings on Thursday.

They may have shown Ottawa management what they are – a young team not quite ready to contend. And that can be valuable information with the NHL trade deadline fast approaching.

A game like that, on a night when the sands shifted mightily in the wild card chase, puts Ottawa in a serious hole as far as playoff contention and tends to remind the brain trust to think big picture as the March 5 trade deadline looms.

Rentals? Why waste the money.

General manager Bryan Murray has already said he prefers to make a deal for a player with some term left in his contract, a player that will be around at least for next season so he can settle in and perhaps stay longer.

A rental was more likely if the Senators were solidly entrenched in a playoff spot by the deadline. Now, there is no chance that Ottawa can be sitting in a wild card position by Wednesday, which means a couple of things.

One: Bringing in a player for a month of hockey before he hits free agency in July makes no sense.

Two: The Senators’ own pending UFAs (defencemen Chris Phillips and Joe Corvo and forward Milan Michalek) are bound to be nervous, considering there is cause for Ottawa to be a minor seller at the deadline.

Phillips, the team’s longest-serving active player, touched on this again on Friday when he talked about seeing his children off to school, not knowing if he might be on “an extended road trip” by getting dealt during the Senators western swing.

Phillips has said all this week he feels he has at least a couple of good years left, and wants to sign for more than one year. He is doing his own negotiating with the Senators, and the fact there is nothing doing at the moment suggests the Senators are balking at a multi-year deal and No. 4 will have to move on to find it, either at the deadline or via free agency.

Head coach Paul MacLean, speaking the day after the Senators 6-1 loss to Detroit, provided cold comfort to players that might be on the trading block. An inconsistent team like the Senators, MacLean said, is bound to create turnover, and not just on the ice.

“You deserve to be a little bit uneasy, you shouldn’t be comfortable with the situation, you’re five points out of a playoff spot,” MacLean said. “We’ve been an inconsistent team all year long and just got blown out in the last two games (a 7-2 loss in Boston preceded the Olympic break).

“I’m not comfortable,” MacLean added, “you should never be comfortable in this league because there’s always somebody trying to take your job.”

Trade deadline or not, the coach said players and staff have to come to work every day with “fear in your belly.”

Mission accomplished. Centre Kyle Turris, one of the many Senators who doesn’t have to worry about moving, nevertheless admits there is nervousness in the room as the deadline approaches.

“It’s something that’s always in the back of your mind, it’s kind of tough to ignore,” Turris said. “It’s part of the job and what happens, happens, you can’t do anything about it. It’s tough to see guys go but changes are part of the sport. You adapt. It’s (Bryan’s) job to see if we need something or not.”

Of course, other change could be based on what clubs like on the Senators roster or in the minors.

With plenty of trade fuel in Vancouver, Edmonton and Calgary, Turris calls this a “different trip” as hockey games on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday flow into the Wednesday deadline. A new look for the Oilers and Flames by early next week?

“There could be a lot of change before our eyes,” Turris said. “It’s going to be real interesting.”

Regardless of who comes and goes to and from Ottawa, the Senators may yet salvage something from this season. And that can’t be forgotten, even if things went from bad to worse against the Red Wings. Qualifying for the playoffs – even as the odds diminish – means added revenue and valuable experience to young players, whether or not Ottawa moves some veterans or prospects before Wednesday. Even a failed playoff drive could provide valuable auditioning for next season.

As the team boarded a plane for Vancouver on Friday, stuck in 12th place with five points and four teams between Ottawa and the nearest wild card position, it would take a special push to qualify now, and probably means they need to win three of four on this western swing.

Given the tribulations of the Canucks, Oilers, Flames and Jets, these are all what Turris termed “win-able games.”

First up is the Heritage Classic at B.C. Place, a huge event for B.C. boys like Turris and defenceman Patrick Wiercioch, who is expected to dress Sunday. Turris figures he will have 30 to 40 family and friends on hand, so don’t blame him for slow ticket sales.

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